Throw Away Lines

I've often told one of my friends that she is too smart. Her knowledge handicaps her in some ways. My goal as her friend has always been to loosen her up. When it comes to writing, I've been soaking up as much information as I can. I'm driving myself to learn more, read more, observe more. I fear this is hindering my level of enthusiasm for reading.

I started a new book the other day. The first few chapters had what I call throw away lines. Information that you need that may or may not be pertinent to the story later down the line, but they appear to be three or four lines that could have been thrown away. Character introductions that include a paragraph of how the person relates to the main character from previous books.

They annoy the crap out of me. First I find that a few lines can't cover an entire book's worth of history. Second this particular author presented most of the information as factual with no emotional connection. It caused me to not care and also to think the editing of the book was poor. Mostly though the flow of the story came to a halt. The book took on a technical feel instead of an emotional connection. I didn't care about the main character or the people in her life because she didn't appear to care.

"Ms. Smith had grown closer to John Doe a few months ago when they'd gone through a traumatic time together. They'd remained in touch despite going their separate ways."

I'd have probably written it this way.

Ms. Smith smiled at John Doe. Her gratitude for him hadn't lessened as the days passed since the trauma they'd endured together."

I'm struggling to finish this book because I just don't care about the characters. I'm doing my best not to just skip to the last chapter to see how it all ends. Although I have no doubt that it has a happy ending, I'm just not sure I'll be invested enough to care.

Glamorous Illusions

Glamorous Illusions is the first book in Lisa T. Bergren's Grand Tour Series. It is also the first book I've read by this author.

Having never read anything by Bergren, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. I didn't have much background on the story so the plot was a complete mystery to me. Cora Diehl has one dream. She wants to be a teacher. Returning home after finishing two of the fours necessary to get her certificate, Cora's world is rocked. After her father has a stroke she sets to work on bringing the family farm back to life. Life is slipping away from both her father and the farm when a rich stranger shows up on her porch. Twenty years of lies come uncovered and Cora is soon relocated to a big city and about to embark on a Grand Tour through Europe. She is met with questions, resistance, and confusion as she tries to settle in her mind is she Cora Diehl or Cora Diehl Kensington.

I read through this book pretty quickly. The plot isn't new to historical fiction but the Grand Tour sounded so appealing to me that I wanted to know how the adventure went. First person fiction novels aren't my style. I felt there were some awkward exchanges from one scene to another amidst changing of point of views. The story was intriguing enough to keep me entertained that I mostly read the book in one sitting. Since it ended on a cliffhanger of sorts, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in Grave Consequences. 

The genius of Cadbury Mini Eggs

I'm on probably my sixth or seventh bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs for this season. Every year I swear I will buy twelve bags and freeze them and allow myself one bag per month. Every year I don't do this. Every year I binge on them for the weeks leading up to Easter and then crave them for about 11 months until they show up in stores again.

FREAKIN' GENIUS MARKETING!

Or maybe I'm just the sucker that it works on. However, let's talk about how Cadbury Mini Eggs appear in stores in the month leading up to Easter. They show up in those really tiny bags that aren't even a real handful. You pay around $1 for roughly a half dozen little milk chocolate eggs.  Then 4-6 weeks before Easter the larger bags appear. They are expensive but you have to have one (or six in my case). After waiting ten months for them to return to stores, I am teased with a small sampling of them unless I buy a dozen of those tiny bags. By the time the full-sized bags are in stores, I don't care what they cost or who I have to run over to own them. 

Trauma Plan

Trauma Plan by Candace Calvert


Trauma Plan is the first book I've read by Candace Calvert. Riley Hale is an ER chaplain who has survived a terrific assault. She's battling to regain her skills after a neck injury so she can once again return to the ER as a trauma nurse. Her first encounter with Dr. Jack Travis leaves her hoping she doesn't have a second. Unfortunately, Jack might be her best option when it comes to regaining her skills. His free clinic needs volunteers and Riley can get some practice in. Unfortunately the clinic in under attack by the the residents of the surrounding neighborhood. Increased crime is being blamed on the patients who utilize the clinic's free services.

Trauma Plan is a tale of redemption. Jack Travis has a secret in his past that drives his passion for keeping the clinic open. Riley desperately needs to return to the person she was before her trauma in order to feel whole again. Bandy, the clinic's cowboy groundskeeper, has years of bad habits that he has overcome but it just might be too late. Kate, Riley's friend, has a secret of her own that drives her decision making into dangerous territory at times.

The message of Trauma Plan is simple at its core. God wants you as you are. He's there with you through every high and every low.

Princess for a Day

This weekend I had the honor of being the photographer at a wedding for one of my good friends. Jess' super romantic fiancee arranged for a horse and carriage to transport Jess from the house to the venue.  As the photographer she asked me to go along.

It was amazing to be included in that special moment. Jess had been smiling for days leading up to her wedding, but all fancied up in her dress - complete with elbow-length gloves and wool shawl - she transformed into a princess. As children ran to keep pace beside the carriage and drivers stopped to get a glimpse of the bride, she didn't stop smiling.

It was such a simple thought by her fiancee to give her the gift of a carriage ride, yet I know it will stay with Jess forever. He gave her a moment to feel truly special. As I've gotten to know him, I have no doubt he'll have many more romantic gestures down the road.

Congrats, Jess and Ehren.

Severe Weather

As a resident of New England there are two things I've gotten used to, severe weather and only having 25 letters in the alphabet. We only use the "r" when writing. It isn't spoken.  Makes talk like a pirate day kind of quiet.

I'm just kidding. I pronounce the "r" could be why I don't really qualify as a true New Englander.

The severe weather though is sort of no joke. In the past two years we've had super storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, tremors, blizzards, and then these mutant storms that like to come visit.

Two weeks ago I went to a Dove chocolate party. It was awesome we sampled a bunch of chocolate and raised money for the American Cancer Society. I bought a fondue set.  Imagine my wonderment when I opened it up and discovered that I can use it in case of a power outage. Yes, it runs off tea lights so if we go a week without power like we did in October of 2011 I will still have chocolate covered pretzels.

So that this post isn't completely fluffy, I am going to share with you photos of this new storm from space.  I think I should have been a storm chaser.  I may have missed my calling.

Cancer

For the past few years I've been volunteering with the American Cancer Society. I became involved when a friend wanted me to spend a few hours taking pictures. That was a few years ago and now I serve as a member of the committee.

What I have learned is people possess amazing strength. I've heard countless stories of the shock of being diagnosed, the battle to fight against the cancer, and the loss that can happen.  I was making phone calls to local communities to recruit teams for this year's Walk for Life and I decided to put together a little information on Relay.

The statistics are staggering. Cancer really does touch everyone. I lost two great-grandparents to cancer. I have had biopsies done on moles. It can seem like such an overwhelming curse to be diagnosed with cancer. 

Yet there are so many wonderful tools to help. Beginning with the American Cancer Society and raising awareness. 

Don't be afraid to get checked. Early detection increases chances of kicking cancer's butt.